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  Secretariat
  Reluctant Farmer
  Land Sharks - Sumatra

BUSHWHACKED IN THE OUTBACK

A Land Sharks Cozy Mystery Adventure
(Book 2)


By Nancy Raven Smith


 
            Lexi Winslow, a bank fraud investigator from Beverly Hills, and her young partner, Steve, approach the house of a suspected embezzler.
            -----------------------------------------------------------------
            Steve and I pass through a low hedge to reach Willis' front door. As we do, I notice a curtain twitch at the house next door exposing a middle-aged woman peeking out at us. Nosy neighbors are probably the second best security you can have. Dogs are the first, of course. And I can hear one inside Willis' house barking up a storm. It sounds like a smallish dog from the timber of its voice.
            Steve rings the doorbell and the dog inside turns frantic. There's a narrow, heavily tinted bronze glass panel beside the door. In the dark interior, I can barely make out what appears to be a mixed-breed Westie. I think mixed-breed because it has spots all over it and West Highland Terriers are normally solid white. This one scratches wildly at the door. But no one responds to the bell. Steve rings again with the same result.
            "There's someone home at the place next door. See if they know anything," I say. "I'm going to walk around back."
            Steve heads to the neighbor's, and I let myself through the side gate into the fenced back yard. There are tall hedges down both sides and a low fence at the far end of the mowed yard. Beyond the fence is a dirt lane that parallels the street in front. I step carefully along the flagstone path in an effort to keep my favorite heels from being ruined by sinking into the soft dirt. Reaching the back door, I peer inside.
            The Westie unexpectedly leaps up on the other side of the glass, startling me. I hastily back a step. And then I look again at the dog through the clear, sunlit window.
            I draw my gun. Those aren't spots on the dog's coat, it's blood.

 
Available on Amazon 2022
 
Sisters in Crime
 
 
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